So the new live action Aladdin was released yesterday… and I kind of nervously and grudgingly went to see it. The internet freakout (a little deserved) over Will Smith’s genie and a very bad Prince Ali clip that Disney put out made me negative going in. Well… to my (and maybe your) great surprise, I really liked… maybe even loved… this adaptation. I’m shocked. Surprised. How can the internet mob hysteria be so wrong?
So Aladdin is basically a complete remake of the classic Disney animated film. You know… Aladdin, Jasmine, Jaffar, lamps, genie, etc. The story follows pretty closely to the original. There’s some trimming of the plot, especially early on, that might make it feel a little hurried. But what they added kind of made up for it. Some nice additions to the story, though sometimes it just feels like they are trying to fill in the gaps of the original story. We get a little Jaffar back story and a little more about his evil plans for the kingdom, for example. But we also get a lot more agency for Jasmine… it’s a well-crafted bit of female empowerment that is woven into the story that works without feeling forced.
This movie lives and dies on the star quality of its two main actors (Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Mena Massoud as Aladdin). I’ve seen Scott previously in the gritty Power Rangers reboot a couple years ago and she made an impression there. She utterly kills in this film… she’s bow-down gorgeous, she’s funny, she’s charming. This is a Star is Born performance. The kid playing Aladdin I’m less familiar with but I was surprised by his charisma and megawatt smile too. And, more to the point, they ooze with chemistry for each other. It’s fun and funny and sweet and romantic when they share screen time. They made me smile a big goofy smile throughout.
Will Smith is good as well. Now, he’s of course got a challenge in that he’s replacing the irreplaceable… but he doesn’t really try to go over-the-top like Robin Williams did. This is more in the laid-back, comical, amusingly confident style of Will Smith’s persona and it works. The time he spends as a blue CGI genie is not nearly as distracting as it first seemed in the trailer. I’m not sure if they fixed anything or if it just works better in context. But no problem.
The film was directed by Guy Ritchie, a director I do not like. He usually shoots and edits his films with more of an eye to how cool and adept he is as a filmmaker and loses any life or humanity. I just don’t like his usual style. Here… it’s barely recognizable as a Guy Ritchie film. He’s toned his usual tics way down (which may annoy his fans) and is actually being subtle and non-frantic. There are a couple weird moments where he slightly speeds up some action or dance scenes… but it’s not in a “look at me doing cool speed ramping” kind of way like he usually does. It’s out of place in the movie… but it’s not detrimental to the flick either.
So, yeah, I really think this one is worth checking out. I smiled, laughed, and grinned my way through the whole flick (it’s a lot funnier than I expected and the audience I was with were just as much into it). Don’t let the internet hate mob OR the natural inclination of “why bother?” get in the way. This is a sure-handed adaptation that feels vital, clever, and fun. And you get to see some very pretty Hollywood stars be charming and romantic.
Score: 89